Unnatural Exposure (Scarpetta)
by Patricia Cornwell
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Book Summary Information
Author: Patricia CornwellEdition: Mass Market Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-02
ISBN: 0425218929
Number of pages: 352
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of Unnatural Exposure (Scarpetta)
Book Review: A comeback of sorts
Summary: 3 Stars
After the bloated and ridiculous 'Cause of Death', it seems like Cornwell is taking a back-to-basics approach with her latest Scarpetta novel. When a body is discovered covered in pox-like pustles, Scarpetta and the FBI are faced with the prospect of an outbreak of smallpox. But since smallpox has been eradicated from the population, the only answer seems to be "unnatural exposure", a person deliberately infecting others with the deadly disease. But who, and for what ends?
It's pleasing to see that even Cornwell realised that 'Cause of Death' was a bridge too far, and 'Unnatural Exposure' represents a clear pullback from the excesses of that book. The baffling FBI and computer terminology is kept to a minimum, and Scarpetta isn't quite as big a know-it-all (although she still gets plenty of opportunity to attack some more stereotypically sexist male characters). And instead of taking on nuclear-hijacking terrorists, investigating a potential disease outbreak is exactly the sort of thing an M.E. seconded to the FBI would be involved in. In all, it's a leaner and more focussed book, much more in line with Cornwell's earlier works. That should be pleasing for all Scarpetta fans who felt the series was going downhill.
Still, it's clear the series is not quite what it was. There is a real lack of subtelty in Cornwell's characterisation, particularly the men. Apart from love-interest Wesley, every male character is either weak and in need of mothering (Wingo, Pleasants, Marino to an extent) or a sexist oaf (pretty much everyone else). That running joke about mispronouncing the heroine's name is wearing very thin. SCAR-PETTA; it's pronounced how it looks, how could anyone have a problem with it? And the ending is a bit abrupt and unsatisfying....holding a grudge for so long would provoke you to cause an outbreak??
That said, 'Unnatural Exposure' is a clear step up from its predecessor, and a tentative step toward getting the series back to its roots. Not perfect, and not as good as her first books, but a comeback of sorts.
Summary of Unnatural Exposure (Scarpetta)
Virginia Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta has a bloody puzzle on her hands: five headless, limbless cadavers in Ireland, plus four similar victims in a landfill back home. Is a serial butcher loose in Virginia? That's what the panicked public thinks, thanks to a local TV reporter who got the leaked news from her boyfriend, Scarpetta's vile rival, Investigator Percy Ring. But the butchered bodies are so many red herrings intended to throw idiots like Ring off the track. Instead of a run-of-the-mill serial killer, we're dealing with a shadowy figure who has plans involving mutant smallpox, mass murder, and messing with Scarpetta's mind by e-mailing her gory photos of the murder scenes, along with cryptic AOL chat-room messages. The coolest innovation: Scarpetta's gorgeous genius niece, Lucy, equips her with a DataGlove and a VPL Eyephone, and she takes a creepy virtual tour of the e-mailed crime scene.
Unnatural Exposure boasts brisk storytelling, crackling dialogue, evocative prose about forensic-science sleuthing, and crisp character sketches, both of familiar characters like Scarpetta's gruff partner Pete Marino and bit players like the landfill employee falsely accused by Ring. Plus, let's face it: serial killers are old hat. Cornwell's most vivid villains are highly plausible backstabbing colleagues like Ring, who plots to destroy Lucy's FBI career by outing her as a lesbian. Some readers object to the rather abrupt ending, but, hey, it's less jarring than Hannibal's, and it's the logical culmination of Cornwell's philosophy about human nature. To illuminate the novel's finale, read Cornwell's remarks on paranoia in her Amazon.com interview. --Tim Appelo
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